The Birth of a Nation

Starring: Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, Jackie Earle Haley, Mark Boone Junior, Aunjanue Ellis, Gabrielle Union, Colman Domingo, Dwight Henry
Directed by: Nate Parker
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Nat Turner (Nate Parker) raises a rebellion against slavery in the South.

Review:

Tim: The Birth of a Nation is a fascinating study of a film. It received incredible early reactions and seemed to be poised to clean up at the Academy Awards at the end of the year. And then, along the way, the film was hit with terrible controversy. I won't get into all the details, but some sickening revelations came to light about writer/director/star Nate Parker and another writer on the film. This cast a fairly deserving shadow upon the film, especially with some of the liberties it took with actual historical events. For this reason, by the end of the year, the film was left out of the major awards conversations.

It's an interesting question- should the past actions of those involved with a movie impact the way we view the movie itself? It's probably impossible to completely separate those, but does Braveheart become any less of a great movie because of Mel Gibson's later words and actions? I don't think so. I think despicable people can still create beautiful, memorable, powerful films. So, the question is- despite the (alleged) sins of Parker, etc.- should that impact how we treat this movie? I'm not entirely sure, but I will say that I don't think The Birth of a Nation should be considered a great movie, regardless of all those other things. On its own merit, this is certainly a good movie, but not much more than that. We've had a number of powerful, memorable slavery movies in recent years. 12 Years a Slave is one of the shining examples. Compared to some of those movies, The Birth of a Nation doesn't quite hold up. Yes, Parker directs a strong movie. It tells a real-life story that too many Americans don't know about it. Like all slavery movies, it reminds us of the atrocities Americans committed and hopefully prevents future atrocities from occurring. So, this might be an important movie, but it's not really a great film.

The movie feels a little too long at 2 hours. I'm not saying it's too long, but it feels too long. Parker does an impressive job directing this film, but this is still his feature film directorial debut. His inexperience shows. The movie borrows too heavily from other films, dwells a bit too long on certain violent situations, straight up fictionalizes parts of the story, including making up events that didn't happen. Parker does a good job, but he's not able to navigate all the different elements of the film to deliver a premier viewing experience. The emotional impact never reaches its full potential. There's certainly hard-to-watch moments and emotional ones, but too many of those are glancing blows. The movie really doesn't deliver the required punch. There's too many scenes that drag on and don't truly add to the film. The climax of the movie feels a little rushed and its impact is blunted. Think about how a great movie- like Glory ends and then compare that to this one. There is a noticeable difference.

The cast is good- Parker directs a very strong performance from himself. I liked him in this role. Armie Hammer was solid in a supporting role and it was great seeing Penelope Ann Miller. The supporting cast is good.

It's unfortunate that the actions of two people hurt this movie so significantly, but I honestly think this movie was a bit overrated by some of the early critics. It's a good movie, but we've seen far better movies that were very similar to this one.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: 12 Years a Slave, Glory